Three dimensional Lifshitz black hole and the Korteweg-de Vries equation

We consider a solution of three dimensional New Massive Gravity with a negative cosmological constant and use the AdS/CTF correspondence to inquire about the equivalent two dimensional model at the boundary. We conclude that there should be a close relation of the theory with the Korteweg-de Vries equation. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V..All rights reserved.

Black hole formation with an interacting vacuum energy density

We discuss the gravitational collapse of a spherically symmetric massive core of a star in which the fluid component is interacting with a growing vacuum energy density. The influence of the variable vacuum in the collapsing core is quantified by a phenomenological beta parameter as predicted by dimensional arguments and the renormalization group approach. For all reasonable values of this free parameter, we find that the vacuum energy density increases the collapsing time, but it cannot prevent the formation of a singular point. However, the nature of the singularity depends on the value of beta. In the radiation case, a trapped surface is formed for beta <= 1/2, whereas for beta >= 1/2, a naked singularity is developed. In general, the critical value is beta = 1-2/3(1 + omega) where omega is the parameter describing the equation of state of the fluid component.

Flares and variability from Sagittarius A(star): five nights of simultaneous multi-wavelength observations

Aims. We report on simultaneous observations and modeling of mid-infrared (MIR), near-infrared (NIR), and submillimeter (sub-mm) emission of the source Sgr A * associated with the supermassive black hole at the center of our Galaxy. Our goal was to monitor the activity of Sgr A* at different wavelengths in order to constrain the emitting processes and gain insight into the nature of the close environment of Sgr A*. Methods. We used the MIR instrument VISIR in the BURST imaging mode, the adaptive optics assisted NIR camera NACO, and the sub-mm antenna APEX to monitor Sgr A* over several nights in July 2007. Results. The observations reveal remarkable variability in the NIR and sub-mm during the five nights of observation. No source was detected in the MIR, but we derived the lowest upper limit for a flare at 8.59 mu m (22.4 mJy with A(8.59 mu m) = 1.6 +/- 0.5). This observational constraint makes us discard the observed NIR emission as coming from a thermal component emitting at sub-mm frequencies. Moreover, comparison of the sub-mm and NIR variability shows that the highest NIR fluxes (flares) are coincident with the lowest sub-mm levels of our five-night campaign involving three flares. We explain this behavior by a loss of electrons to the system and/or by a decrease in the magnetic field, as might conceivably occur in scenarios involving fast outflows and/or magnetic reconnection.

Realistic fluids as source for dynamically accreting black holes in a cosmological background

We show that a single imperfect fluid can be used as a source to obtain a mass-varying black hole in an expanding universe. This approach generalizes the well-known McVittie spacetime, by allowing the mass to vary thanks to a novel mechanism based on the presence of a temperature gradient. This fully dynamical solution, which does not require phantom fields or fine-tuning, is a step forward in a new direction in the study of systems whose local gravitational attraction is coupled to the expansion of the universe. We present a simple but instructive example for the mass function and briefly discuss the structure of the apparent horizons and the past singularity.

Consistency of the mass variation formula for black holes accreting cosmological fluids

We address the spherical accretion of generic fluids onto black holes. We show that, if the black hole metric satisfies certain conditions, in the presence of a test fluid it is possible to derive a fully relativistic prescription for the black hole mass variation. Although the resulting equation may seem obvious due to a form of it appearing as a step in the derivation of the Schwarzschild metric, this geometrical argument is necessary to fix the added degree of freedom one gets for allowing the mass to vary with time. This result has applications on cosmological accretion models and provides a derivation from first principles to serve as a basis to the accretion equations already in use in the literature.

Stability analysis and area spectrum of three-dimensional Lifshitz black holes

In this work, we probe the stability of a z = 3 three-dimensional Lifshitz black hole by using scalar and spinorial perturbations. We found an analytical expression for the quasinormal frequencies of the scalar probe field, which perfectly agree with the behavior of the quasinormal modes obtained numerically. The results for the numerical analysis of the spinorial perturbations reinforce the conclusion of the scalar analysis, i.e., the model is stable under scalar and spinor perturbations. As an application we found the area spectrum of the Lifshitz black hole, which turns out to be equally spaced.

The globular cluster kinematics and galaxy dark matter content of NGC 3923

This paper presents further results from our spectroscopic study of the globular cluster (GC) system of the group elliptical NGC 3923. From observations made with the GMOS instrument on the Gemini South Telescope, an additional 50 GC and ultra-compact dwarf (UCD) candidates have been spectroscopically confirmed as members of the NGC 3923 system. When the recessional velocities of these GCs are combined with the 29 GC velocities reported previously, a total sample of 79 GC/UCD velocities is produced. This sample extends to over 6 arcmin (>6 R-e similar to 30 kpc) from the centre of NGC 3923 and is used to study the dynamics of the GC system and the dark matter content of NGC 3923. It is found that the GC system of NGC 3923 displays no appreciable rotation, and that the projected velocity dispersion is constant with radius within the uncertainties. The velocity dispersion profiles of the integrated light and GC system of NGC 3923 are indistinguishable over the region in which they overlap. We find some evidence that the diffuse light and GCs of NGC 3923 have radially biased orbits within similar to 130 arcsec. The application of axisymmetric orbit-based models to the GC and integrated light velocity dispersion profiles demonstrates that a significant increase in the mass-to-light ratio (from M/L-V = 8 to 26) at large galactocentric radii is required to explain this observation. We therefore confirm the presence of a dark matter halo in NGC 3923. We find that dark matter comprises 17.5(-4.5)(+7.3) per cent of the mass within 1 R-e, 41.2(-10.6)(+18.2) per cent within 2 R-e and 75.6(-16.8)(+15.4) per cent within the radius of our last kinematic tracer at 6.9 R-e. The total dynamical mass within this radius is found to be 1.5(-0.25)(+0.4) x 10(12) M-circle dot. In common with other studies of large ellipticals, we find that our derived dynamical mass profile is consistently higher than that derived by X-ray observations, by a factor of around 2.

CENTAURUS A: THE EXTRAGALACTIC SOURCE OF COSMIC RAYS WITH ENERGIES ABOVE THE KNEE

The origin of cosmic rays at all energies is still uncertain. In this paper, we present and explore an astrophysical scenario to produce cosmic rays with energy ranging from below 10(15) to 3 x 10(20) eV. We show here that just our Galaxy and the radio galaxy Cen A, each with their own galactic cosmic-ray particles but with those from the radio galaxy pushed up in energy by a relativistic shock in the jet emanating from the active black hole, are sufficient to describe the most recent data in the PeV to near ZeV energy range. Data are available over this entire energy range from the KASCADE, KASCADE-Grande, and Pierre Auger Observatory experiments. The energy spectrum calculated here correctly reproduces the measured spectrum beyond the knee and, contrary to widely held expectations, no other extragalactic source population is required to explain the data even at energies far below the general cutoff expected at 6 x 10(19) eV, the Greisen-Zatsepin-Kuz'min turnoff due to interaction with the cosmological microwave background. We present several predictions for the source population, the cosmic-ray composition, and the propagation to Earth which can be tested in the near future.

A search for point sources of EeV neutrons

A thorough search of the sky exposed at the Pierre Auger Cosmic Ray Observatory reveals no statistically significant excess of events in any small solid angle that would be indicative of a flux of neutral particles from a discrete source. The search covers from -90 degrees to +15 degrees in declination using four different energy ranges above 1 EeV (10(18) eV). The method used in this search is more sensitive to neutrons than to photons. The upper limit on a neutron flux is derived for a dense grid of directions for each of the four energy ranges. These results constrain scenarios for the production of ultrahigh energy cosmic rays in the Galaxy.

Influence of polyaniline and phthalocyanine hole-transport layers on the electrical performance of light-emitting diodes using MEH-PPV as emissive material

The influence of layer-by-layer films of polyaniline and Ni-tetrasulfonated phthalocyanine (PANI/Ni-TS-Pc) on the electrical performance of polymeric light-emitting diodes (PLED) made from (poly[2-methoxy-5-(2`-ethyl-hexyloxy)-1,4-phenylene vinylene]) (MEH-PPV) is investigated by using current versus voltage measurements and impedance spectroscopy. The PLED is composed by a thin layer of MEH-PPV sandwiched between indium tin oxide (ITO) and aluminum electrodes, resulting in the device structure ITO/(PANI/Ni-TS-Pc)(n)/MEH-PPV/Al, where n stands for the number of PANI/Ni-TS-Pc bilayers. The deposition of PANI/Ni-TS-Pc leads to a decrease in the driving voltage of the PLEDs, which reaches a minimum when n = 5 bilayers. In addition, impedance spectroscopy data reveal that the PLED impedance decreases as more PANI/Ni-TS-Pc bilayers are deposited. The PLED structure is further described by an equivalent circuit composed by two R-C combinations, one for the bulk and other for the interface components, in series with a resistance originated in the ITO contact. From the impedance curves, the values for each circuit element is determined and it is found that both, bulk and interface resistances are decreased upon PANI/Ni-TS-Pc deposition. The results indicate that PANI/NiTS-Pc films reduce the contact resistance at ITO/MEH-PPV interface, and for that reason improve the hole-injection within the PLED structure. (c) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Wormholes in de Sitter branes

In this work, we present a class of geometries which describes wormholes in a Randall-Sundrum brane model, focusing on de Sitter backgrounds. Maximal extensions of the solutions are constructed and their causal structures are discussed. A perturbative analysis is developed, where matter and gravitational perturbations are studied. Analytical results for the quasinormal spectra are obtained and an extensive numerical survey is conducted. Our results indicate that the wormhole geometries presented are stable.

Unconventional Hall effect near charge neutrality point in a two-dimensional electron-hole system

The transport properties of the two-dimensional system in HgTe-based quantum wells containing simultaneously electrons and holes of low densities are examined. The Hall resistance, as a function of perpendicular magnetic field, reveals an unconventional behavior, different from the classical N-shaped dependence typical for bipolar systems with electron-hole asymmetry. The quantum features of magnetotransport are explained by means of numerical calculation of the Landau level spectrum based on the Kane Hamiltonian. The origin of the quantum Hall plateau sigma(xy) = 0 near the charge neutrality point is attributed to special features of Landau quantization in our system.

Nonlocal Transport Near Charge Neutrality Point in a Two-Dimensional Electron-Hole System

Nonlocal resistance is studied in a two-dimensional system with a simultaneous presence of electrons and holes in a 20 nm HgTe quantum well. A large nonlocal electric response is found near the charge neutrality point in the presence of a perpendicular magnetic field. We attribute the observed nonlocality to the edge state transport via counterpropagating chiral modes similar to the quantum spin Hall effect at a zero magnetic field and graphene near a Landau filling factor nu = 0.

Rotating black holes in a Randall-Sundrum brane with a cosmological constant

In this work we have constructed axially symmetric vacuum solutions of the gravitational field equations in a Randall-Sundrum brane. A non-null effective cosmological constant is considered, and asymptotically de Sitter and anti-de Sitter spacetimes are obtained. The solutions describe rotating black holes in a four-dimensional brane. Optical features of the solutions are treated, emphasizing the rotation of the polarization vector along null congruences. DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevD.86.124047

On the diurnal cycle of urban aerosols, black carbon and the occurrence of new particle formation events in springtime Sao Paulo, Brazil

Large conurbations are a significant source of the anthropogenic pollution and demographic differences between cities that result in a different pollution burden. The metropolitan area of Sao Paulo (MASP, population 20 million) accounts for one fifth of the Brazilian vehicular fleet. A feature of MASP is the amount of ethanol used by the vehicular fleet, known to exacerbate air quality. The study describes the diurnal behaviour of the submicron aerosol and relies on total particle number concentration, particle number size distribution, light scattering and light absorption measurements. Modelled planetary boundary layer (PBL) depth and air mass movement data were used to aid the interpretation. During morning rush-hour, stagnant air and a shallow PBL height favour the accumulation of aerosol pollution. During clear-sky conditions, there was a wind shift towards the edge of the city indicating a heat island effect with implications on particulate pollution levels at the site. The median total particle number concentration for the submicron aerosol typically varied in the range 1.6 x 10(4)-3.2 x 10(4) cm(-3) frequently exceeding 4 x 10(4) cm-3 during the day. During weekdays, nucleation-mode particles are responsible for most of the particles by numbers. The highest concentrations of total particle number concentrations and black carbon (BC) were observed on Fridays. Median diurnal values for light absorption and light scattering (at 637 nm wavelength) varied in the range 12-33 Mm(-1) and 21-64 Mm(-1), respectively. The former one is equal to 1.8-5.0 mu g m(-3) of BC. The growth of the PBL, from the morning rush-hour until noon, is consistent with the diurnal cycle of BC mass concentrations. Weekday hourly median single-scattering albedo (omega(0)) varied in the range 0.59-0.76. Overall, this suggests a top of atmosphere (TOA) warming effect. However, considering the low surface reflectance of urban areas, for the given range of omega(0), the TOA radiative forcing can be either positive or negative for the sources within the MASP. On the average, weekend omega(0) values were 0.074 higher than during weekdays. During 11% of the days, new particle formation (NPF) events occurred. The analysed events growth rates ranged between 9 and 25 nm h(-1). Sulphuric acid proxy concentrations calculated for the site were less than 5% of the concentration needed to explain the observed growth. Thus, other vapours are likely contributors to the observed growth.